mack – el – hat – ton

67 and Fitter Than Me

Dan Kois’s article “Tour de Gramps” — in which the author tries to keep up with his 67-year old father on a bike trip up a mountain in France — has in many ways every element I ask for in order to grab my attention. So if you need a bit of a lure to read this article (you should, you should), a quick rundown.

Kois doesn’t present himself as a hero who can just blast through this experience. Exercise when you push yourself is a struggle; if it’s easy, you’re not giving it that extra oomph. His descriptions of inwardly dying as he goes up Mont Ventoux are funny, but they’re also remarkably accurate. The deal-making, the game-playing, the obsessive counting of the distance to get to a pre-determined break.

He eats a lot of pain au chocolat while biking up this mountain. Honestly, this really just made me hungry more than anything else because breakfast has worn off and it’s too early for lunch. But mmmmm, chocolate bread.

He gets Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville album stuck in his head as a distraction. I feel like anyone who’s done an endurance sport understands this phenomenon all too well. (“Oh no, you’re not going to believe what’s stuck in my head now,” is a familiar chorus with my running buddies.) But it’s not just any music, it’s Liz Phair’s first (and unfortunately, best) album. It doesn’t matter that it’s now in my head too, I cheered.

Best of all, though? It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to start exercising, never too late to make a big change. I was 27 when I gave distance running a whirl, and I remember even then a lot of people (including a certain family member) telling me that I shouldn’t even try it. I was fat, and I hadn’t done any sort of real exercise in years. 14 years later, I’m still going. Kois’s father was 50 (and also out of shape/overweight) when he took up cycling. At the age of 67, he’s powering up a mountain on his bike and in great shape. That’s a role model to look up to.

Anyway, it’s a fun article, and something that deserves more than a one-sentence “check it out” on Facebook. So. Check it out.

(Also, I need some inspiration to get back into the pool. I’ve added the cycling back into the schedule but it’s always squeezing in the third part of a triathlon that becomes a struggle. Sometimes it’s cycling, sometimes it’s swimming. Get it moving, Greg.)

I think the key thing is to keep moving, no matter your age or health issues. I have joint issues and a few autoimmune diseases. I swim. A lot. And walk the track at the YMCA. The YMCA or any gym is a great place to go if you want to start exercising and have no clue what to do. I like mine because it has 3 pools (family, therapy, and lap pools), indoor track, exercise machines, and a ton of classes… And I fast-pace walk in 5k marathons. I don’t compete against other people.. I just have to figure out if I’m healthier than last year, and if not, what I can do to improve. And I guess my only goal is to be healthy enough to keep up with my 8 year old. Boy, I wish I had that energy…